There are plenty of reasons to head into 2025-26 with the feeling that the Cleveland Cavaliers are the best team in the Eastern Conference. The duo of Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley is right up there with the best of those.
Many will believe that Mitchell and Mobley are the best one-two punch in the conference. One the people who will validate that feeling is NBA.com's Shaun Powell.
Powell delivered a list of the top 10 best players in the East heading into 2025-26. The list went in the following order: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, Paolo Banchero, Cade Cunningham, Joel Embiid, Evan Mobley, Jaylen Brown, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Trae Young.
With both Cavaliers stars securing prominent positions, it is clear that only one real competitor exists to Cleveland holding the bragging rights, and massive advantage, of having the East's best duo. That would be the New York Knicks.
Cavaliers' well-rounded duo should tower over the East
In terms of name notoriety, Brunson and Towns probably jump off the page more to the average NBA viewer. Some of those people may even be shocked and confused at seeing Mobley ahead of the Knicks big man, in particular, in Powell's player rankings.
Towns certainly has the much deeper offensive bag. No one will dispute the idea of the five-time All-Star being the superior player on that end.
Towns averaged 24.4 points and 3.1 assists, shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 42.0 percent from beyond the arc in 2024-25. That is just who the elite big man is.
Mobley certainly falls short of Towns offensively. The first-time All-Star last season only put up 18.5 points and 3.2 assists by comparison. However, for whatever the presumed gap is on that side of the court, the defensive one is much larger.
Towns is underwhelming as a defender. Mobley, on the other hand, is one of the best players in the league on that end. One does not have to look much further than the Defensive Player of the Year trophy sitting in his cabinet for proof of that.
The debate between Mobley and Towns is certainly not one-sided. However, the Cavaliers big just has more to offer as a player and that should give him the edge.
Going by Powell's rankings, the advantage for the Cavaliers there is bigger than the one New York has with Brunson between the two guards in this equation. The two gifted offensive generators would not quite be called a wash. However, the advantage to the Knicks guard is small.
Some of this debate, as any conversations involving player rankings go, come down to personal preference. However, ahead of a pivotal 2025-26 NBA season, bestowing that honor to the Cavaliers and understanding the massive advantage Mitchell and Mobley bring offers plenty of optimism.